War is Hell
by BriaMercedes
Summary: In the middle of the Vietnam War, Soda meets a soldier who is not like the rest. There's something different about him, but no one can figure it out. Vietnam fic. I'm bad at summaries.


**Hey there! Would ya look at that! Another Vietnam fic. I know, I know. There's a whole bunch of them already, but mine's different than the others.**

**I'm just gonna let you know now. There are many historical inaccuracies in this story, (That's why this is called fan**_**fiction**_**) But I did do my fair share of research for this so a lot of it is accurate. Please bare with me; updates may be few and far between. I am currently in my very last semester of high school. I am currently in band, choir, orchestra, and theatre. I am in two musicals and a straight play right now, and I am in the process of auditioning for the Marine Band. (I have no idea what compelled me to start a Fanfic right now) So I'm pretty swamped. But It would mean the world to me if you read and left a review. Oh! Another warning; This **_**is**_** a war fic so there will be A LOT of swearing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. I do own my OCs.**

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All I heard was the sound of my heart beating a million miles a minute and the thump of my feet on the jungle floor. I saw nothing but the flashes of light coming from machine guns and my two good friends, Shelby and Huff, running beside me. We had to retreat. Too many of us were getting hit. Captain McKay, our CO, said that there was another unit we could meet up with a few miles south. It's a good thing too; we were running out of supplies and ammo.

I don't know how long we ran, it must have been for a while because I heard a shout to halt. When I stopped running, I collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. I looked over at Shelby who did the same thing. As we lay there panting, we glanced at each other and began to chuckle for some strange, unknown reason.

Huff walked up in front of us and shook his head. "Y'all are a bunch of weird fuckers. We're in a war and you sittin' there laughin' your asses off." John Huff was a 21 year old from Macon, Georgia, which is a few hours outside of Atlanta. He enlisted on his 20th birthday so he didn't have to worry about being drafted. He said that if he was going to war, he was going 'cause he chose to.

"Aw, C'mon, Huff," Shelby responded, "You've gotta laugh. If you don't, this whole life thing'll getcha down. We don't want that. 'Specially not now that there's a war on."

Huff was about to retaliate when McKay sounded the call to keep moving. Instead of giving a snide comment he gave Shelby and me a hand up. Huff was kinda like the big-brother figure of the three of us. He was already in our unit before Shelby and I came in as replacements. We were all a part of the 9th infantry division, C Company stationed in Dong Tam, Vietnam. Shelby and I have been here for 3 months.

"Hey, Soda, " Shelby asked, "Do you think the war'll be over soon?" Milton Shelby was drafted like I was. He turn 18 two weeks before me. He reminded me a lot of Ponyboy; he was innocent. He smiled a lot which was nice. It gave me a reason to smile, but if there was someone who shouldn't be in a war, it was Shelby.

"I hope so, Shel." I answered.

We walked in silence for the next few hours, occasionally hearing gunfire in the distance.

It was dark before we reached the other unit. We were welcomed by side glances and silence. They looked as tired as we all felt. We all stopped when Captain McKay hollered. A man from the other company stepped forward and saluted the captain. McKay threw his hand up in response.

"First Lieutenant Carmichael, Sir. Welcome to G Company," the man introduced himself.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. My men need aid and supplies, and a place to sleep. Do you have room to spare?"

"There's a few empty tents over there," He replied, pointing to the left. "As for supplies, we don't have much either. However, we should be getting another shipment within the next few days. You're welcome to stay with us."

McKay nodded, "Much obliged." He nodded once more to the lieutenant before signaling for us to follow him.

We walked through the camp quietly. The unit came up to five uninhabited tents that sleep six people to a tent. It was just the right amount, originally, there were forty two in our unit, but after the last battle, we were right at thirty.

Huff, Shelby and I found our way into a tent where we dropped our gear and plopped into our own cot. It was then that the full wave of exhaustion hit me. My eyelid dropped almost immediately. "Good night, Boys." I said as I drifted to sleep.

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I was woken by a scream that could only be described as pure terror. It was coming from a few tents down from our own. I grabbed my gun and burst out of my tent. It was still dark, but I could see a figure of a fellow soldier running to enter the tent. I walked slowly up the mouth of it. I could hear inside a soothing voice and the hysterical sobbing of the two soldiers.

"Shh. Calm down. You're alright. Stop crying. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you right now." One soldier consoled. He grabbed his fellow soldier's hand and held it tightly. When that didn't work and the private continued his bawling, the one got behind him and held his head close. "Everything's okay. Shh. I'm right here. You'll be alright." Slowly, the distraught soldiers cries soften and it became a whimper.

As I listened, I thought back to when Ponyboy had nightmares. I sighed at the memory as it reminded me of how much I miss home.

After a while, the soldier came out of the tent and saw me standing there.

"Sorry about that. He lost every single one of his friends just before you all got here. That's the worst his nightmares have ever been. Sorry if he woke you." He told me.

"It's alright. I was awake anyways," I lied. I looked at the soldier. There was something strange about him. He was small, I wouldn't really say petite, but you could really get much smaller… I held out my hand for a handshake. "Sodapop Curtis, C Company."

"Sodapop? Yikes. That's a doozey," He took my hand, I couldn't help but notice how small his hands were, "Brian Kendrick, but everyone calls me Shrink. Where ya from Sodapop?"

"Oklahoma." I answered, choosing to ignore the dig on my name.

"You don't say! I'm from Oklahoma City. Where abouts?"

"Tulsa. I live with my brothers. I have an older brother and a younger brother."

"Do they have crazy names like yours?"

"My little brother's name's Ponyboy. My dad was real creative." I laughed.

"Was?" Brian inquired.

"My parents died when I was 15."

"Sorry to hear that."

"My brother Darrell, we call him Darry, had just turned 18 and he didn't want us to be split up so he quit college and became mine and Pony's guardian. He raised us." I smiled as I thought of Darry.

Brian smiled right back. "He sounds like a great guy. Why don't you tell me some more about Tulsa?"

I grinned and began to tell him all about Tulsa and the whole Soc vs. Greaser conflict. I told him about the gang and how we were like family. I talked about the DX and the roofing company that Darry works for. I told him how smart Pony was and how he was going to be the one to get out of Tulsa and go to college. Before I knew it, the sun rose. I didn't even know I talked for that long. Hell, I even forgot where I was.

I chuckled at myself. "Sorry for talkin' so much."

"It's alright, I asked." Brian said. "I don't mind. I like to listen. That's why my friends call me Shrink. They always come to me to talk. I'm a good listener. They say I have a way of making them forget the war for a little while."

"Well, it's true. You really do. Thanks for that. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime. I think I'm gonna move in with Charlie, here." He said gesturing to the tent behind us. "He shouldn't have to sleep alone. Not now that his friends are dead. He'll need someone there. I'm always the one to wake him from his nightmares anyway."

"It's good that you do that. After our parents died, Pony had nightmares. I was always the one to wake him up. It's not always easy."

"No, it's not." he agreed, "I've had nightmares like the one he has and let me tell you, I wouldn't wish something like that on anyone. Least of all my fellow soldiers."

As men began to file out of their tents to begin the day, I heard the call for grub. "You coming?" I asked my new friend.

"Naw. I'm gonna wake Charlie up, make sure he's okay. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around, Brian."

"Call me Shrink."

"Later, Shrink," I smiled and began to walk away. There was something different about Shrink. I couldn't really put my finger on it. But no matter what it was, I'm glad I met him. He seems like a good person, and those are hard to come by in a war.

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**Please review. I have no way of knowing whether or not to continue if I don't feedback. Every single review I get makes me happy beyond belief!**


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